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Praise

My goal is to help people and organizations craft irresistible visual, verbal and experiential brand stories. I’m also in the business of sharing my own stories to inspire and delight! Here are some of the blush-inducing raves from people who’ve worked with me. I’m honored. Click here for a partial client list.

Working with Maria was the kickstart I needed to help define my business ideas and give me the encouragement I needed to leave the practice of law and enter the world of entrepreneurship. I now have a luxury women’s fitness and wellness retreat business that I love, combining my passion for travel with bringing together groups of women to help inspire them to take care of their minds, bodies and spirits. I couldn’t have done it without Maria’s guidance, knowledge and enthusiasm. Worth every penny!

Maria’s Brand Bootcamp was the perfect first step for my new business. I loved working through the chapters at my own pace – as fast as I could go. Maria’s explanations and worksheets did more than help me write my company’s key messages and define my ideal clients. The Bootcamp helped me express what makes me different, which happens to be exactly what drives me as an entrepreneur. I came away from the Bootcamp focused, articulate, and completely amped.

We brought Maria in to our team offsite to inspire us to think about our brand in a fresh new way. We want to keep the brand personality that makes us special as we scale and grow – no small task. Her insights, exercises and engaging style got everyone fired up about how we can better live out our brand and values in every area of the organization. Maria is a great facilitator and she deftly got our diverse group talking and contributing. Her session motivated us so much, we’re bringing her back to help us define, articulate and share the brand internally so everyone understands what role they play and we don’t lose that “tribal knowledge.” I’d highly recommend any start-up or fast-growth company engage with Maria to ensure they retain their “DNA” as they grow.

— Sherry Lowe, VP Corporate Marketing, Splunk

Maria helped us get to our core strategic conversations in a very effective Brand Workshop that kicked off our relationship. This was a key first step in a very successful rebranding of our leading solutions. With her assistance, this new brand voice and look has helped us change the way we talk – internally and externally – and will help us achieve our ambitious corporate vision and goals.

Stuck? Not sure where to start? Or do you just need a KICK start? I so enjoyed working with Maria Ross to launch GreekGab. Although I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted to do, Maria challenged me with fresh ideas and support.

Maria took the randomly connected ideas I had about my brand and turned them into a cohesive product line that’s the backbone of my business. Several times, her expert advice saved me making a poor choice that seemed right but would’ve been disastrous. And she has fabulously talented colleagues and resources to share. I was in excellent hands with Maria and you will be too.

— Dina Eisenberg, Founder & President, Kisima Enterprises

I not only enjoyed working with Maria, she delivered great results! I hired Maria to learn about me and my company and translate that into a cohesive branding message that was easy to understand and powerful. Two years later, we are still using not only the same message but the same exact words to great result. She’s intuitive, creative, listens well, and more importantly translates you into something that is understandable and marketable.

My time with Maria was without a doubt the best investment I have made in my business. The process from beginning to end was well organized and professional. It was a step by step plan to organize my vision and marketing goals for the future. Maria’s expertise in marketing was invaluable as she helped me differentiate myself from my competitors, develop taglines, and organize my marketing plan. Within only one week of meeting with her I have seen positive results.

We had ambitious brand goals and Red Slice was our secret weapon for getting things done right. We wanted a brand to stand out and capitalize on our experience and value – with a more human, personal touch – and Red Slice delivered. With a rare blend of Right Brain and Left Brain thinking, Red Slice was efficient and focused, while also delivering fresh, creative ideas. Our internal launch energized our staff and the external launches helped us exceed our entire quarterly lead goals. Our web traffic is way up, our customer engagement across the entire sales cycle is better, and our brand promise is clear. More than a vendor, Red Slice was truly a partner that cared as much about our success as we did.

It’s such a treat to observe Maria in action — she deftly coaxes clients out of their branding “safety zone,” and into a brave new world of captivating language, clear-cut positioning, and compelling storytelling. Maria brings Fortune 500 insights to nascent start-ups, and infuses established companies with entrepreneurial vitality. As a member of Maria’s battalion of copywriters, I always enjoy her crisp directives, swift-but-sensible deadlines, and sheer, unbridled enthusiasm. Am I stoked to be riding Maria’s coattails? Heck. Yeah. Is she qualified to rebrand, reshape and revamp your business? See. Above.

We loved how quickly we were able to discover our evolved brand. The one day session and pre-assignments were just what we needed with our hectic schedules. The brand was there within us, but we needed Maria’s expertise and calm but engaged manner to unveil and shape it. The process energized the team and caused us to all improve our sales skills. Our business is up at least 20% since the session. I’m not sure where all the credit comes from, but good news is good news.

Maria has been a repeat speaker for BlogHer Conference, including a keynote speaker at this year’s Pathfinder Day for highly aspirational social media leaders. Whether she’s using her personal life experiences as the framework for a deep personal development conversation, or leading a tactical workshop on developing your personal brand, Maria delivers stellar content. And actionable content. We have had Maria speak on more than one occasion (which is rare…we feature 80% new speakers at every event, so repeat speakers are a rarity). And we would have her speak again!

Our Brand Booster Session was excellent! Thank you for your valuable insights around my next-steps. I don’t know how anyone could haphazardly do all this without the guidance you give in your book and expect to have any success. You have cut my time in half (at minimum) to get my efforts going and easily saved me third of my budget had I tried to do this without your expertise.

— Laura Amendola, Financial Advisor and Creator of Wealth For Widows

Maria’s approach to branding is well-honed and most importantly, action-oriented. Her process to develop findings and recommendations for our brand strategy provided insights that were far greater than what we could have come up with on our own. The final recommendations from our workshop were focused and inspired, and will be key elements in our efforts to continuing to building a brand that is differentiated from our competitors, attracts customers, and delivers value to our shareholders.

As a solopreneur of six years, I had gazed into my own navel for so long I had lost all perspective on what message my business was sending out into the world. I was overwhelmed with the possible choices I could/should be making. I needed help. Maria provided guidance, perspective, and rock-solid instructions for which steps were needed to move my business to the next level. I’ve fallen in love with my business all over again! Hiring Maria was the best business decision I’ve ever made.

Being a solopreneur, I was able to get my business only so far before I needed some help with taking it to the next level. I’m so glad I chose Red Slice to help me get there. Maria is a pleasure to work with, very professional and seriously knows her stuff. We made not only short-term goals but also longer-term goals for my business, giving me a really thorough path for my business growth.

Maria facilitated a 3-hour beginner branding session for our yearly strategic planning meeting. We had over 30 diverse people with various perspectives and Maria was able to educate, captivate and delight them all. Her clear explanations, strong presentation style and interactive exercises had even our top executives rolling up their sleeves and gaining new insights into our customers’ needs. We are now well-armed to craft a strong brand strategy and reach our business goals. Our CEO will not sit through any meeting he doesn’t find value in – and he was engaged and attentive until the very end!

Maria gets it. We threw a huge, confusing value proposition at her and she methodically broke it down into a well-defined corporate message matrix that has proved to be effective in addressing our customer base and all its iterations. If your organization is struggling to convey its value to its audience(s), Red Slice is your firm.

— Rob Mathewson, Serial Entrepreneur

Maria has a way with words – and is my go-to creative brainstorming partner when I need to think about new ways to market my business. She asks the right questions and constantly gets you to think about your brand and ideal audience to ensure every marketing move you make is a smart one. Organized, honest and innovative, she encourages you to dream big while giving sound advice you can act on ASAP.

Working with Red Slice helped me to focus on what makes my company special. Maria helped me to really understand who my target client was, so I could better attract those people into my practice. She also worked with me on my key messages – from business plan to elevator speech to website content—clarifying the offerings and benefits so that my potential clients can easily see how I can help them. I am constantly complemented on my messaging— people say they “get it,” which is often tough to get across in my industry.

Maria gave our conference attendees concrete advice for not just developing a smarter branding plan, but for creating stronger, more cohesive business strategies. Her clear delivery and patient demeanor were invaluable! She makes a great addition to any speaking lineup.

Working with Maria transformed my business. She taught me that clarity around your branding story is a critical component to success. The process with Maria enabled me to break through my fears and expand the concept of what is possible for my business. The result – Alinga went from a small hidden space to a modern wellness studio that embodies the Alinga brand in every way. I can’t thank Maria enough!

Working with marketing is not always easy for us ‘creatives’ but Maria Ross belongs to the group that is a joy to work with and a great resource. Her creative eye and strategic thinking makes her a force you want on your team. Her abilities to come up with unexpected solutions, new ways at looking at problems, while never losing sight of the business goals, are rare qualities.

We engaged Maria to help our company firm up its messaging. We felt we had a strong foundation in our brand but were not communicating our values and services to our stakeholders in a meaningful way. Maria helped us think about our core messages and to draft language and marketing tools that resonate with our customers. Maria kept us on task and on budget and did a thorough job of bringing forward our key messages. Since implementing these tools, we have seen an increase in the quality of prospects coming through our website. We’ve also been better able to communicate our value proposition to current clients and stakeholders. Thanks, Maria, for your great work!

Maria has vision and passion for her work. She is willing to step up and try things that are innovative, and as a result often times put the companies she worked with ahead of the curve.

— Scott Lawrence, Creative Director & Interactive Strategist

I can’t say enough good things about working with Maria & her team. Her professionalism, expertise, and focus are second to none. The brand messaging content and tone delivered were spot on and sounded like my company, not hers. Best part? She’s also fun to work with. Worth every penny.